1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inexpensive, disposable garment to be worn by patients who are about to be examined by a doctor for matters which concern the rectum or the genito-urinary tract. In particular it relates to garments to be supplied to patients by a doctor who examines a large number of female patients.
In a method aspect, the invention relates to a method whereby such a garment is made.
In still another aspect, the invention relates to an article of manufacture comprising a pair of identical blanks provided with appropriate adhesive portions, the blanks being adapted, when separated and appropriately oriented and joined, to provide for a wearer a garment of appropriate dimensions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of medicine, the concept of providing disposable garments made of laminated tissue paper, in place of conventional garments of cloth, is well known. Especially where it is considered important that the garment in question be sterile, as in the case of a surgeon's gown, but also in the case of other garments for which sterility is not necessarily an important consideration, it is generally known that the cost of even a single laundering, let alone an autoclaving to obtain sterility, far exceeds the cost of providing a used-once paper garment. The difference in cost, laundering versus disposable garment, is on the order of between 10 and 50 to 1. In other words, it is known that for items such as drapes for an examining table or gowns, it is conceivable that a disposable paper item can be provided at under 10 cents each, whereas a single laundering of a single unit of the same item costs about two dollars. This being the case, there has been a tremendous incentive in the medical-garment area to adopt the use, where possible, of disposable garments, so much so that special-purpose garments made of cloth may now be considered obsolete.
The prior art contains various patents which relate to the same area of use, such as Djorup U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,121 and to a lesser extent, also U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,692,989; 3,160,891; 3,399,406; and 3,351,301. To consider the garment strictly in terms of its structure, no attention being paid to the material of which it is made or the manner in which the garment is made and used, the garment in the present invention is structurally similar to those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,973,963; 2,477,593; and 2,396,599, especially when (in each case) the crotch strap is removed. As furnishing examples of the prior art concerned with methods of making such garments, there may be considered U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,696,445 and 4,052,752.
Because of a technique which has only recently begun to be practiced on a substantial scale, there is likely to be a greater demand for a garment according to the invention that one might otherwise expect. Until rather recently, it was usual to conduct a Pap smear test only annually, but lately, more doctors are recommending that such a test be conducted every six months. Because of the above-mentioned technique, it is now possible to draw material from the uterus into the vagina, and this makes it possible with the Pap smear test to detect uterine cancer at an earlier stage. Moreover, though at one time many doctors did not recommend or require periodic gynecological examinations for women under age 35 or 40, it is now a standard practice to require a Pap smear test at periodic intervals, before renewing a prescription for birth-control pills. In other words, it is becoming increasingly common to conduct such examinations also upon women in the age bracket of 15 to 35.